La Vallée des Fleurs
by D-Savano
Summary: Depression is the epitome of nothingness, lowering us into the depths of darkness. We then dwell in an area called limbo, where we share our shelter with despair and hopelessness. Watch James as he finds Lily in Depression and decides to pick up the pieces of her shattered spirit.


**La Vallée des Fleurs**

**The Valley of Flowers **

She was like a translucent ghost in the hallways, people rarely ever noticed her, let alone conversed with her. It was almost as if she drifted from one class to another, occasionally getting pushed aside from another ignorant student. But she didn't mind, for she didn't care about what other people thought or did, or their opinions. All she knew was that she had carry on as another fifth year, to continue, as life did.

But one unfortunate day, a sixth year Slytherin who was running late for his class, had pushed her aside a little too hard for her small frame, so she had fallen down. "Get away you filthy Mudblood!" Was heard from his mouth and was directed to her. She was unaffected by it, for she simply tried to get up after falling down and continued with her head down.

The same night, that little scene had spread like wildfire. Lily couldn't care less, but James Potter could. He was a bit aghast after he heard the story and was intrigued to know what had happened.

Sometime in the morning the next day, Sunday, Peter was putting on a robe while James patiently waited for his friends so that they could all walk together towards the Great Hall. James in a more eager manner. Because today, his curiosity had risen by a significant amount. He wanted to ask Evans about yesterday's fiasco, whilst not being impolite. Which was halfway through impossible.

When the four of them entered, the Great Hall had only a few people that were present. There were hardly any Slytherins and Ravenclaws, and more of Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. James saw Lily mindlessly stare at her porridge as she slowly kept stirring it. Her dark red hair was loose and free around her, and her eyes were looking down at the plate. She wasn't talking to anyone.

Lily's eyes were staring at her plate as if to find solace in the morsels of food and her posture was rigid. He wondered what was going on in her mind. He then decided to try his luck. He confidently made his way towards the end of the long Gryffindor table where she was seated.

"Evans," he said brightly, sitting himself down next to her, uninvited.

"Potter," she said dully.

"Ray of sunshine, aren't you?"

Lily had this strong urge to either run away or politely tell him off. She was weighing the options. She didn't answer, nor did she smile. She only continued to stir the porridge.

"Can I ask you something?" he asked, turning towards her.

"What," her voice was strangled at the effort it took to sound the words, it was strained, "would you like to know?"

James didn't even want to start when he heard her. It was as if she was begging him to stop, telling him not to go there even though her words were a weak attempt to be polite. It was a struggle, to even be willing to give an answer.

His brow dipped in confusion. The winsome sadness in her expression and in her voice drew him short.

"Why the long face?"

"Long face?" She repeated as if it was the most ridiculous concept she'd ever heard of. She gave out a short and bitter laugh.

"If only you knew, Potter," she muttered softly. Her tone was different from anything he'd heard. But it was the look that she had that haunted him. It spoke of the beginning of her painful story. It spoke more than what words could ever hope to achieve.

James' face was blank. It was true, he was struck with an epiphany, but it was solely different from his preconceived beliefs. She wasn't just feeling down or low. She was a sunken ship, that had hit rock bottom. She wasn't even trying to come up, she had accepted her position and she was trying to make do with it. Desperately.

And it broke through James' obliviousness like a heated knife through butter.

"Well, uh," James started to fumble with his words, "maybe you can tell me?"

There. That was his last ditch attempt at trying to get the key to open her her chamber that held secrets. She looked away.

"Prongs! Come over here!" Sirius said loudly from the other end of the table but it might've been from the other end of the country.

James looked at Sirius as if to say, "not now" but Sirius and his mates were waving their hands madly. He didn't stand a chance.

"Maybe you should join them, for they are calling and waiting for you," Lily said softly. She gently pushed away her half eaten porridge and laid her chin on her arms. Her eyes were intently staring at the wall in front of her.

James was torn with two options. Stuck at a crossroad. He was definitely closer to his three mates more than her and was almost obliged to go. But something about her uncanny aura and her subtleties drew him in. She was quietly staring at the wall, blinking every few seconds with her loose red hair sprawled all over her.

"Why don't you come?" He suggested. He and his mates were planning to go outside to throw stones in the lake, or just sit down on the grass for the heck if it. Maybe that would help her. Just maybe.

She shook her head. "No, you carry on."

And so he did.

But he greatly regretted it. Even on the way out, he kept thinking of the possibilities that could make someone so glum and devoid of life. James had never known depression, so he couldn't recognise it when he saw it in someone else. You could say he was blind in a metaphorical way, because he kept trying to see something that he wouldn't be able to identify. But that only made the fascination all the more enigmatic.

At the end of the day, he decided he'd try to talk to Evans. Close friend or not, he was curious and enticed by her actions and the subtle energy that radiated off of her. It was a new feeling which was triggered by her presence. He wanted to know what exactly was behind the peculiar, yet powering force that made her so idiosyncratic and distinctive.

The next day after breakfast, their first class was Care of Magical Creatures with Professor Kettleburn. He was a happy man, who lived in the teachers quarters right outside the castle. He had only one limb, but he managed the duties that life demanded just fine. Now, he was limping towards the group of Gryffindor and Slytherin fifth years.

"Come on, let's head over to that side!" He said, as loud as he could. He gestured towards a patch of land which was quite a distance from the Forbidden Forest, and on the other side of Hogwarts.

The various colours of green ran from the fresh grass up to the mountain tops which frolicked with the soft clouds. The sort of scenery that it provided made you content by just looking at it. There were also many pine trees which made up for the other part of the forest.

On the patch that Kettleburn had referred to, there were animals which were like cranes, but their hair wasn't white, it was a soft blueish-grey hue which was the same as the deep Atlantic ocean, mixed with the shade of a furious grey cloud before the storm, and finally touched with a light tinge of cream. Some of them had tears of blood, dripping out of their eyes and slowly falling on the thick green grass, staining the Earth with a haunting shade of red.

James shuddered at the sight of them walking slowly. The way they walked was almost as if they were nutrition deprived birds, they had to have a fighting battle to take every step. Yes, they were skeleton-like, dropping their blood. It definitely was something grotesque, and had a harrowing potency on James. Majority of the other students had the same response and didn't seem too keen on going near them.

"These are Crumaes. Beautiful creatures," Kettleburn said. He went on to explain, "They're harmless, but always mourning. Many people will feel revolted to go near them, but people who can relate to the orientation that they display and represent, can empathise with them."

Peter winced every time a tear of a Crumae near them dropped. Remus looked bored and Sirius was staring at an eccentric plant nearby which would open and close whenever it wanted to. But James was truly intrigued, not exactly with the Crumae but the fact that one of them was following Lily Evans around. She was looking at them with vague fascination but still paid heed to every movement of theirs.

And while Kettleburn rambled on about Crumaes and what they ate whilst the other students were cautiously eyeing them, Lily started walking away from the class, with the Crumae following her close behind. James wanted to know where she was heading off to, during a class. She aimlessly wandered to the right, away from the castle. The muddy path which she walked on was like a slope, the height increased before decreasing to a plane between two mountains, although, one couldn't perceive what the plane possessed or held from where James stood. But still, the view of the rising and blazing sun in the East was clearly visible from there.

So it was as if Lily was walking towards the Sun, into the soothing serenity and warmth that it offered. Like an angel, she was bathed in the pale golden glow from the same light that illuminated the forest around them. James was contemplating on whether he should follow her or just ignore her and continue back to Kettleburn who was oblivious to the whereabouts of Lily.

Ultimately, out of sheer curiosity and for the sake of satisfying his boredom, James quickly followed Lily up the slope. When he finally reached the decline of the slope, he saw a crane and a small figure in a black robe seated in an endless sea of flowers. A variety of coloured flowers had presented themselves to him. There was the color of twilight. It was that purple pinkish hue just before the midnight blue of evening falls. And then there was a soft grayish pink of a summer sky at dawn, mixed with the pearlescent purple of a setting sun.

He was in awe, in wonder, as he'd never seen, or imagined, something of this magnificence could exist near Hogwarts, without his knowledge. He looked up to see two mighty mountains, surrounded by mist, enclose this breath taking valley.

It still hadn't come to her knowledge that he was standing there behind her, in wonderment and disbelief. He then slowly started to walk towards the crane and figure, it was like walking through a semi-penetrable solid, with the closely packed flowers rubbing themselves against him. They came to just above his knees.

"Kettleburn too boring?"

She swiftly turned around to the sound of his voice.

"Potter?"

"The one and only," he said, deciding to sit next to her with the array of flowers standing around him, enveloping him. Just like it did to Lily.

"How'd you find this place?" Curiosity took over him as he forgot the previous question that he'd asked.

"Believe it or not," Lily said, observing a flower closely with a butterfly on it, "Dumbledore told me about it."

"Really? When?"

"About a day after school started, he caught me when I was standing in the Astronomy Tower. You know how he is, he just knows things," she said vaguely. Her expression was that of a lost child's, who was reminiscing a past memory. She was sitting cross-legged, her back was straight and her eyes were looking up at the heavenly sky, which was slowly turning grey and rumbling back at her.

"He asked how I was doing, and I told him I was fine. But he... he just knew," The last three words were like a soft gasp of disbelief.

James didn't ask what she meant and decided to let her take the lead, to explain. He was patiently waiting for her to elaborate. But when it didn't come, he tried again.

"Knew what?"

James had known this girl for five years now, and since the time he met her, he always knew there was something especial about her diverse thoughts. He had never taken the effort to try and grow closer to her, maybe because he thought that she might not want to. But when this year finally happened, there was this new sentiment that he'd been struck with, and he didn't know where it dwelled or where it came from.

She only shifted her gaze from the sky and back to him. "James, I think it's time to leave,"

She got up and he followed suit, scrutinising all her actions and movements.

Sirius and Remus had noticed his absence and hadn't an idea where he had gone. So when James and Lily strolled back together, the two of them had very amused grins on their faces. Kettleburn had walked off to the other side, with some of the student body following him, and fewer paying attention.

When the class had ended, they all rushed back to Potions with Slughorn and the day continued from there.

And when the day had finally reached it's end, James attacked Lily with questions. He'd asked what she meant by Albus Dumbledore knowing everything. He'd asked why she had changed so much over the summer. He then finally asked why she was being hidden by a shadow of melancholy which made her despondent. That's when she stopped short.

"Shadow of melancholy?"

"Well, you're pretty despondent," he said nonchalantly.

They were both in the common room. She was sitting near the fireplace, her green eyes ablaze with fiery orange light from the vigorous fire. After a long ten minutes, she turned towards him.

"I will tell you my story, but I only ask for one favour in return," she said quietly, her green effervescent eyes studying James' flushed face and ruffled hair.

"Of course," he agreed wholeheartedly, "and what would that be?"

"To give me time." Her voice was definite, implying that it was something vital that she needed. A simple element. But a priceless one.

It was only two weeks later in the future that our Lily had decided that she should tell him. She knew he was allured by her obscure actions, and she didn't know why, especially when the rest of the students in her year were hardly interacting with her.

So, where else would her tale be told? Where better to do it than the place where she found peace and he got lost in wonderment?

They had started at dusk, during sunset, staring at the horizon. And finished when the stars came out and everything was still and peaceful. She had settled down in a comfortable manner, surrounding herself with the various flowers which would brush against her. Her knees were folded and under her chin and her arms were firmly wrapped around them. He was staring at her. She looked as if the life had been drained out of her slowly by some unexplainable force. At least to him. He knew that you couldn't understand forces if you didn't know what was behind them, powering them.

"So, I'm a muggle, you probably know that," she started quietly. The wind was rough and blew through her hair that was bunched to one side. She sighed and stared at the unending splendour of various flowers that were presented before them, as they gently swayed to the tune of the wind.

He only nodded and intended to pay attention to her, acutely aware to the soft sound of her breathing and the areas that her eyes were focused on; her gaze.

"I just want you to listen, and not pity me. Walk away from me, but don't you dare pity me,"

James was baffled. Did pity even cross his mind? Never.

And so she started her story, slowly but surely. Like the fallen blood of the Crumae, tears that had been spilt out somewhere in the process of her conveying her message of pain, had stained, not the Earth but the complete outlook, aspect and opinion of James. So eloquent, so sincere her words were.

"Honestly, I had ruled out running away as a possibility. I knew it was foolhardy and an impossible feat, but it was all I could think about. I wish all this didn't affect me so much. I wish my blood didn't boil, and my eyes not tear up at the the thought of it. But it does, it happens and I couldn't ignore it anymore, though believe me, I tried. Life has to go on, with or without any entities."

She laughed but it wasn't for happiness. She laughed because it was far better to laugh than it was to cry. She then tried to stop the flood of tears and struggled to speak around the lump in her throat.

"But patience is a transient thing, James. There was only so much pretending, so much of a facade that I could keep up. I gave in." She closed her eyes to the full moon staring at her, where the feeble light caressed her face in return, "especially after the verbal abuse from my Father, the words that he'd call me and my Mother. It tore me apart to shreds, leaving me crying every night. But when I got kicked to ground by my sister, I had lost the last forlorn piece of my sanity that I had had. And then darkness closed in around my mind. Because every day I become more consumed by iniquity, darkness, and chaotic thoughts."

She gave him a painted smile. A smile of loss. A smile of failure. And somewhere in the false curve of her lips, in the dying sparkle in her eyes and her rejection, there was a sort of uncanny peace.

"So that's it, that's what you've asked, and I've given you the answer," she said, gently petting the crane before a drop of the crane's blood fell on her arm. She touched the blood and drew an 'L' on her arm, then looked at the rising moon which had a beautiful anaemic glow. And because of that phenomenon, her skin seemed translucent and the flowers were twinkling at her through the pale blanket of light.

He was quiet. It was only two weeks ago when he wanted to know her story and yet, it felt like he had experienced a sort of eternity with her through her journey. She had talked for a little over two hours and he hadn't minded. Not at all. If it was someone else who had talked, he'd definitely be irked. But with her, she wasn't really talking, she was a portal, exposing her secrets to him. Her voice was gentle with him, like the soft rustle of leaves on an autumn day, and it was as if he needed the the help. When secretly, it was her.

After that, she got up and dusted her robes before standing and quietly waiting for James. She looked at him, but he was in the same position, observing the sparkling lake beyond the valley.

"Carry on," he said.

She turned around and started towards the castle while a boy in a valley of flowers was lost in thought. Lost, yes, but he had arrived to a conclusion. That was to slowly pick up the remaining pieces of her shattered spirit. To prevent her from being consumed by this iniquitous entity. To show her something completely ethereal.

**The End**

Prompt was**: **_James picking up something._

_**If you've read through the whole story and managed to bear with me, thank you. Written for:**_

_Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition (Captain)_

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